This section gives details of selected events taking place in and around the Central Belt of Scotland this fortnight. Events are listed by area and then

alphabetically. All submissions should be accompanied by a contact phone number i

for our information. Days Out compiled by Thom Dibdin.

BORDERS

I WINTER TREES ORGANISED WALK Sun 26. 2—5pm. Meet outside the swimming pool. Galashiels. £1 (50p). A gentle walk led by the Borders Ranger Service round the environs of Galashiels with a chance to identify trees in winter and look out for winter visiting birds before they migrate and our own residents before they become hidden in the leaves. The walk will include the Gala Policies woodland. part of the Southern Upland Way to the River Tweed. returning to Galashiels via the Gala Water.

CENTRAL & TAYSIDE

I EARTH WITNESS Sat 25 Feb—Sat 1 April. Mon—Sat. 10am-5pm. Callendar House. Callender Road (A803). Falkirk. 01324 612134. £1.50 (75p). An exhibition of ﬁgurative and landscape ceramic sculpture by Todd Gardner. influenced by Celtic and early Christian mythology. The exhibition is in the tnain gallery of the 900-year-old house. which is being restored as a museum for Falkirk and is a good family day out.

I MILLS OBSERVATORY OPEN NIGHT Fri 24. 7.30—10pm. Mills Observatory. Balgay Park. Dundee. Free. 01382 667138. Monthly open night at the observatory with a talk about the night sky in February. followed by a chance to look through the ten-inch telescope if it's clear or a planetarium show if it isn‘t. Incidentally. there is no new moon this February. The observatory is open on weekdays 3—10pm and Sat 2—5pm.

LOTHIANS 8: FIFE ,

I 25 WALKS IN EDINBURGH AND LOTHIAN New book from llMSQ: £6.95. See photo caption.

I EDINBURGH PEACE FESTIVAL Fri 3--Sun 19 March. Various venues in lidinburgh. Full programme from the Peace and Justice Centre. St John‘s Church. 3 1.oihiattRoad.0131 229 0993. ‘Think globally. act locally' is the message of the ninth lidinburgh Peace Festival. Atnong the various public forums. conferences. vigils. music and entertainments. there is a celebration of International Women's Day on Sat 4. 9.30am—5.30pm. Assembly Rooms. George Street.

I THE FUTURE 'l'hurs 9. 7.30pm. Royal Museum of Scotland. (.‘hambers Street. lidinburgh. £2 in advance from 0131 225 7534. Alun Anderson. editor of the New Scientist. looks into his crystal ball with a talk entitled "The Future: what the world will be like in the next century".

I THE NIGHT SKY IN MARCH Fri 24. 7.30pm. Royal ()bservatory. Blackford Hill. 1idinburgh.0131 668 8405. £2 (£1.50). Russell libetst describes what yott can see through your telescopes in March on a clear night. The observatory is open daily. l--5pm. with its excellent visitors centre and star shop. Public viewing through the telescopes every clear weekday evening. 7—9pm. Phone after 4pm on the day to book. £1.50.

I CONVERSATION PIECES Tue 7. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. 2 Sauchiehall Street. Glasgow. Ruth Wishart says ‘join my company‘ at the latest of these very popular lunchtime talks which will be in

the format of her award winning Radio Scotland show Question 'lime. I CREATIVE STITCHES ’95 Thurs 2—Sun 5. 9.30am—5.30pm. SECC. Finnieston Quay. Glasgow. £4.80 (£3.50). All the supplies. stands. exhibitions. talks and demonstrations you stitchers and knitters out there could want. Besides the various ‘have-a-go' anti ‘tnake-and-take' demonstrations. the lib/mm '3‘ Hour quilt will be on display. I HOLIDAY ON ICE Tue 28 Feb—Sun 5 Mar. 2pm (Wed. Sat/Sun). 5pm (Sun). 7.30pm (Tue—Sat). SFCC. Finnieston Quay. Glasgow. £9—£l5. Ticket bookings ()141 248 9999. See photo caption. I INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY Wed l-l‘ri 10. Various venues around Glasgow. Ftill programme of events from ()141 424 3105 or ()141 632 4486. International Women's Day officially falls on Wed 8. but a programme ofcelebratory events is taking place before and afterwards. Events include dances. workouts. lectures. poetry readings and history workshops. ()n Wed 8 a plaque will be unveiled at the Suffrage ()ak on Kelvin Way. The oak was planted on 18 April 1918 to commemorate the granting of votes for women. Phone the Women's Unit on 0141 305 7525 for time. I MODEL RAIL ’95 Fri 24. llam—8pm/Sat 25. llam—6pm/Sun 26. 11am-5pm. SliCC. Finnieston Quay. Glasgow. £3 (£2). Scotland’s biggest exhibition of model railways and associated paraphernalia. I THE SCOTTISH ROADSPORTS & CUSTOM BIKE SHOW Sal 25/Sun 26, 10am-5pm. SliCC. Finnieston Quay. Glasgow. £4 (£2). The first major bike show in Glasgow for ten years. Over 80 stalls with everything you could want for your bike from T—shirts anti tattoos to skull jewellery and. er. Sit/.ttkis. The Best Bike in Scotland competition is being held at the show. so there should be a few stunning examples of the customiser's art on display. I SPRUCE ON THE LOOSE Sat 25. l0am~4pm. ("hatelherault Country Park. l‘erniegait'. Hamilton. l‘ree. 01698

26213. 'l‘hose pesky Christmas Trees are infiltrating the native woodland at Cl’iatelherault. and the rangers are asking for folk to cotue along and help root them out before they becotne too large. Wear boots and old clothes.

A deluge of snow has left all the resorts with solid cover over a hard base. So it is likely to last for a good while yet. With the occasional thaw. there has been a problem with avalanches. 'l‘ake heed of the signs and don‘t go beyond your capabilities.

I Ski Clubs For the social life and post-

= piste piss-ups. your local ski-club can't be

beat. They also organise mini-buses to

slopes on most weekends and can put you in touch with other people who might want to car share.

Glasgow Ski Club meet every Thursday at 9pm in The Scaramouche. Elderslie Street. Details from 0141 424 1893 or 0141 883 6665.

Edinburgh Ski Club meet every Tuesday from 9.30pm at the Royal Circus Hotel. Royal Circus. For information pack phone 01312203121.

I Dry Ski Slopes Put in a bit of practice before hitting the white stuff:

I GLENCOE Chairlift company: 01855 851 226. Closed Tue/Wed. The closest resort to Glasgow has all runs complete with excellent cover but a bit of an avalanche risk. It has not been affected by the changeable weather.

I NEVIS RANGE Chairlift company: 01397 705825. Scotland‘s tnost modern ski resort boasts the UK's only gondola system. The highest pistes in Scotland are at the top of Aonach Mor (4006 feet) but have been affected by the strong south westerly winds. All runs are complete with excellent cover. including the lower slopes and off-piste. Creche facility: three to seven years.

I CAIRNGORM Chairlift company: 01479 861 261. Close to the skiing town of Aviemore so there are lots of things to do apres-ski. All 28 runs are complete with plenty of snow right down to car park level. Off-piste skiing is good. but at your own risk! Don't go beyond roped-off

I GLENSHEE Chairlift company: 013397 41320/41343. Edinburgh‘s nearest resort. The three valleys ofGlenshee offer 38 pistes on 40km of runs and a massive uplift capacity of 18.500 skiers an hour. All runs complete with very good fresh snow and good accumulations at the top of the mountains. However. the resort has been rather affected by the unpredictable weather and some of the lower runs are a bit thin. Creche facility: over two years. From Mon 6 March: Snow Fun week. with lots of wacky on-the-hill events including a kilt-clad slalom.

I THE LECHT Chairlift company: 019756 51440. Scotland’s best resort for absolute beginners. with easy green and nursery slopes right next to the car park. All runs are complete with good snow on a hard- packed base. Creche facility: over three years.

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public transport. Each walk is described in a simple and informative style, but do not have much of the local history aspect. They have been intelligently chosen to give a

good view of Edinburgh and some of the conjunction with Ordnance Survey maps, your way into the nooks and crannies of

surrounding towns and villages. Used in this is an excellent starting point to find the city. Although some indication is given

of whether pubs and tea shops are available en route, more attention could have